Seth Best shares his experiences at Ypsilanti Freight House, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in Ypsilanti. He is one of 12 people who shared their stories at a Voices of Homelessness event organized by the Washtenaw Housing Alliance Friday night. Photos by Ben Allan Smith

YPSILANTI, MI - Addiction, gambling, an abusive home life or abruptly losing a job -- these are the types of circumstances that push Michigan residents into homelessness.

Twelve people who have experienced homelessness shared their stories Friday, Nov. 9, at a "Voices of Homelessness" event organized by the Washtenaw Housing Alliance at Ypsilanti Freighthouse.

Seth Best recalled the times he was turned away from homeless shelters or denied the free meals given to others. After being fired for being transgender in 2006, he became homeless in Texas in 2007.

"I was not allowed to even enter a homeless shelter because of the letter that's on my driver's license," Best said.

Originally from Lansing, he has lived in Ann Arbor now for 10 years after moving around the country and overseas. Best said he tried to get to Ann Arbor because he knew the Delonis Center accepts people as they are.

He would like to see social services do more to meet people in their present circumstances and offer resources to increase their comfort.

"We need to not criminalize sleeping," he said. "We need to not criminalize using the bathroom. We need to not criminalize basic needs."

La Shawn Courtwright's challenges kept snowballing. Getting arrested and being unable to pay bail meant losing her job and having her children removed from her custody. Without a support system that could help her to financially get back on her feet quickly, she spent years fighting to get back what was hers.

As a homeless woman, she felt unsafe and had to be aware of her surroundings at all times. Courtwright said going to a job interview means she has to pay for a hotel room so she can get cleaned up and have a place to store her belongings, rather than carrying a backpack into the interview.

"There's a lot to being homeless. It's a job within itself," she said.

Courtwright is originally from Detroit and has lived in Ann Arbor for 18 years. She uses writing as an outlet to share her experiences, and she's in the process of having a book of poetry published.

Ramone Williams

Ramone Williams shares his experiences of homelessness at Ypsilanti Freight House, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 in Ypsilanti. Williams is one of 12 people who shared their stories at a Voices of Homelessness event organized by the Washtenaw Housing Alliance Friday night. Photos by Ben Allan Smith

Ramone Williams

Ramone Williams has talked publicly about his experiences with homelessness before, but he thinks people still don't understand the issue.

"There should be more in place when people are at risk of homelessness than there is," he said. "There's this stigma, this taboo thing. ... It could be you or I, and it could happen at any moment."

Williams slept in his car while attending Eastern Michigan University because he had enough money to pay for tuition or housing, but not both. After Bridge Magazine reported his story in December 2015, Williams received an outpouring of support that helped him afford housing.

He graduated from EMU in spring of 2016 with a communication media and theater arts degree.

Williams would like to see support beyond financial assistance for people who don't have a support network to offer them comfort and guidance through challenges.

He's still dealing with the depression and anxiety he developed while he was homeless.

"It's like a pressure cooker," Williams said. "Anything could go wrong at any moment and I need to watch myself or someone's going to take something from me. ... I don't have that backing that a lot of people have."

Twin sisters Sakinah Rahman and Zakiyyah Rahman performed a spoken word piece called "Scattered Thoughts" on Friday. The Ypsilanti teens are active in a myriad of community groups and encourage youth to get involved in decision making in their communities. They both were named Washtenaw County's 2017 Young Citizens of the Year.